Sei Bar Wakefield might be the best Hunan restaurant in Mass. It is a small restaurant in Wakefield. There might be a long wait during busy weekend hours especially for a large party. Every dish I've gotten there is just chef's kiss. The handmade meatball soup tastes very homey; a good soup for the soul. Braised sliced pork with preserved veggies is just so tender and braised well. Definitely go there with a couple of people so you can try different dishes. I would go to Wakefield just for Sei Bar! read more

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My friend got some takeout from here after a long night of work. Even though we are located further from the restaurant, they still were able to do delivery. We got to try their E4 sautéed sour bean w minced pork, E2 braised pork belly and Scallion pancake. My friend is happy to have found this place since it reminds her of Home being from China. She appreciates how authentic the dishes are and I really enjoy trying it for the first time. Would order from here again! read more

Sei Bar - E4 sautéed sour bean w minced pork E2 braised pork belly - Chinese Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

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I returned to Sei Bar for a weekend lunch with a friend. Arriving promptly after its 11:30 AM opening, I received seating immediately. The two of us ordered to share 干扁四季豆 spicy green beans ($15.95), 泡椒牛肉 / shredded beef w. pickled pepper ($19.95), and 水煮鱼片 braised fish fillets w. chili sauce ($17.95). The 幹扁四季豆, a regional classic, possessed impressive amounts of smoky 鍋氣 / wok-hei, melding disparate salty and savory flavors together. The pickled mustard offered crunchy texture contrast. The 泡椒牛肉 remained unchanged from my previous visit - a decent sauteed beef dish with a slight hint of spice and slight acidity to contrast other, heavier dishes. The 水煮鱼片 proved underwhelming. The braising liquid only imparted slight amounts of spicy, as evidenced by its brackish color. It imparted equally little flavors - the fragrance of chili oil and sharpness of peppercorn seemed notably absent. Overall, I would still return to Sei Bar. I know to skip the 水煮鱼片 next time. read more

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Xiang cuisine, also known as Hunan cuisine, is one of the eight major culinary traditions of China. Sei Bar offers some of the most authentic Xiang cuisine in the greater Boston area. To avoid long wait times, we usually stop by for dinner on weekdays. My favorites include the steamed spicy fish fillets, spicy lamb with cumin, black mushroom salad, and grilled peppers with preserved duck egg. Be aware that the dishes can be really spicy, so choose your spice level carefully! By the way, there is only street parking near the restaurant. Alternatively, you can park at Shaw's, just one block away. read more

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Delicious food but so far away from Boston. Worth it if you have other things to do in the area. If not, maybe still worth the drive here for the food! read more

Sei Bar - Chinese Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Food is surprisingly good. Went with friends, was glad to find this gem in wakefield. The food is pretty spicy, you can ask the server to make it mild. The price was much more reasonable, compared with similar restaurants in allston or brighton. read more

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Best Chinese food I ever had! Pork hot pot Eggplant c garlic sauce Stir fried homemade bean curd Fried rice read more

The food was good, but now changed. I ordered Stir Fry Cabbage$18.5,but the portions are small.( Left side of pictures ). The Crazy Spicy Chicken hot pot test like American Chinese food with Douban. Nothing special, it is not desire $24.25. 豆瓣都没炒散，就是咸，完全失去了湘菜的风味，好意思卖这么贵吗？ 餐馆打包很好，但是被司机扔得东倒西歪的每一样菜都在漏油。 read more

Sei Bar - a variety of food in containers - Chinese Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

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Authentic Hunan dishes. Highly recommend 刮凉粉，长沙烧卖，擂椒皮蛋，红烧肉。Service is good too. Their home made drink 冬瓜汁 tasted great. read more

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Great spicy and savory food. Large portions and good service Pickled pig's ears, sweet potato soup, spicy glass noodles, black mushroom salad, spicy radish hot pot. read more

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Came on a Sunday at 6:30pm, and was seated immediately for a table of 6. Service was great and environment was perfect for catching up with old family friends! Ordered around ~9 dishes, including pig ears, pork liver, spicy cauliflower, spicy tofu, mantou with condensed milk, giant sesame ball, steamed sticky rice w pork ribs, and braised sliced pork w preserved veggie. The spicy dishes were medium-level spicy. If you have a low spice tolerance, I would request the kitchen make all the spicy dishes less spicy. My tongue was on fire by the end of the night! Giant sesame ball was hollow, with a tiny bit of nonfried dough inside. They provide you scissors to cut open the ball with. The kids really liked this! Pig ears were delightful! I've been to a couple Shanghainese restaurants that make this cold dish crunchier, but the pig ears here were softer and tasted fresher. Would get this every week if I could. The only reason for a 4/5 rating was because of the mantou. The fried mantou were over fried, and the steamed mantou were too firm. Room for improvement here. Otherwise, all other dishes were authentic and a joy to eat. Thanks Sei Bar 湘私馆! read more

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The Hunan food here is so good. Best on the North Shore and we can't wait to go again. The smoked pork belly and peppers is great. The sour fish is amazing. Everything is great. read more

A true hidden gem for authentic Chinese cuisine in the North Shore. Please be aware, this is not your go-to take-out place for Orange Chicken. This is not your Chow Mien/Pu Pu Platter restaurant. This is authentic Hu Nan Cuisine which is known for its dry-spicy flavor. Love their pork belly dish, homemade La Rou and even the cold dishes. Fantastic service in my opinion. read more

Authentic spicy Chinese food. I really wich that the Sei Bar in Medford would ditch it's horrible pseudo Japanese offering and mirror what Sei Bar in Wakefield does. Authentic is always better and authentic Chinese actually will have customers. Back to Wakefield: Chairman Mao's pork belly, spicy jelly noodles, sliced beef are musts. read more

First time trying this place and it was definitely one of a kind!! They have really amazing menu, tons of authentic Chinese dishes. We went with two Chinese friends of ours who are regular at this restaurant and they recommended a lot of good stuff. We ordered around 6 different dishes and it came down to ~ $30/ person. The portion is huge and should be enough for another 2 meals! Most of the food were spicy and salty so you might want to order some rice to go with them. One thing we really enjoyed was that each dishes had distinctive flavor and you could taste not just the hot flavor of the chili but also a bit of sweet and sour - really interesting and flavorful stuff. This place is different from other Chinese restaurants we've been to. The service was good and people were friendly. There was a big party so it took a while for them to serve our food but all was well. We'll definitely visit again soon! read more

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AMAZING Hunan style dishes that are better than anything I've ever tried in the US. When you Yelp the restaurant, it shows up as a "sushi bar" "Thai restaurant", however, it is a hidden gem with very authentic Chinese food at very reasonable price. Almost everything is SPICY on the menu, but so delicious if that's why you life. Some of my favorite items- Five sliced beef with garlic and chili （五香牛肉） Braised pork belly (红烧肉） Stir Fried smoked tofu (湘味豆干） Spicy cabbage （手撕包菜） They also have a special whole chicken dish that you have to call to reserve in advance, because it takes hours for the chicken to simmer in a clay pot. The broth that came with the chicken was heavenly that I had to ask to box the broth to take home after we are done eating the chicken. The food is comparable to those I've had in China and I can't wait to go back already! Just wish the place is closer to me... read more

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This place provides sushi, but as amateurish gourmet, I come to try their famous Chinese food. If you want something authentic and nice, do NOT come and order sushi. They have delicious and authentic Chinese food. The most famous part of the food here is its spicy taste. Almost every dish is spicy, but very good. They even have stir-fried pig liver. This dish is highly recommended. About other dishes, please check my photos. read more

Be ready because of it's far away from Boston city and very spicy if you aren't used to Hunan cuisine. Meter parking is available. Between the two of us, we had spicy cauliflower, spicy beef, and spicy intestine along with a couple Sapporo and plum juice. The cauliflower is the iconic dish, therefore it's a must order and not too spicy. The spicy beef is popular as well except I think the beef/chili ratio is too low and resulted in an entire bowl of chili leftover. The spicy intestine was, ok, I wouldn't recommend it if you see other dishes you like (the spicy fish seemed to be popular as well). The HUGE sesame ball seemed to be a must order if you have a party over 3 (good for pictures and actually good as dessert, you'll likely see parties around you order them). Service was on par with other places of similar price range except it could be slow at times. Prices are reasonable as well except you're likely to order many drinks to offset the spice. (Our bill was around 40 per person, which was a little unexpected.) Food 3.5/5 Service 4/5 Value 3.5/5 Ambiance NA read more

Sei Bar - Chinese Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Super ruuuuude waitress. Food is average, but you have to wait at least half an hour to get your food. We complain about the speed, and they said the chef was tired... Why don't you close store and let chef go fishing? read more

*Update*: The owner replied back and told me it's the problem with our order that causing more than an hour's wait, not their tardiness. So I changed my review from 4 stars to 2 stars. There are other Hunan cuisine in Cambridge and Brookline that worth a try! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fact 1: The food here is pretty authentic and delicious. Fact 2: It took the restaurant more than an hour to serve us 3 dishes. Fact 3: No one apologized for the long waiting time while we were there, not at all. Context 1: We came here around 3 p.m and ordered 3 dishes, each arrived separately with a long waiting time gap in between, so basically we had our order taken, waited 15min, Dish A coming up, finished it in 10 min and waited for another 15min for Dish B, continued to wait for 25 min, and finally came the Dish C. Context 2: There were only 4 tables (10-12 ppl) while we were dining there, and one large group of 8 is leaving. I understand sesame ball and steam fish will take longer than usual, but the waiting time is insane at 3 p.m. read more

This place used to be one of the best Chinese Hu-nan style restaurants around Boston area, very spicy and authentic flavor. However, I noticed it tasted different from our recent trip. the flavor has been downgraded, it tasted no better than any regular Americanized Chinese restaurants you found in your town, it's not authentic anymore, and it tasted bad. I wonder if it they hired a new chef. One dish we ordered is Stir-fry Pork w. White Pepper, you can tell the oil they used was not fresh at all, it's really disappointing. And here comes the worst part from my recent trip there, my families who ate it all had food poisoning afterwards. read more

My sister in law wanted to have dinner at this place, I was initially not very convinced after looking at their takeout menu which consisted of a mix of Japanese and Thai dishes. Usually a red flag when a restaurant has a mix of different cuisines. We got to the restaurant around 6.30pm and there was a 20 mins wait. The restaurant was filled with a lot of Chinese people, which is usually a sign of authenticity. That puzzled me. Then I discovered a whole new separate menu, entirely different from the take out menu. This menu was filled with authentic dishes from the Hunan province in China! What a nice surprise! We ordered the pigs ears and 5 spice beef for appetizers which were both really flavorful and had a nice spice kick. For mains, we ordered a fish in spicy sauce, shrimp and cumin lamb. For dessert, we ordered the gigantic sesame ball which looked really impressive and tasted good too. It's not as sweet as American dessert, but who can resist fried foods with fragrant sesame seeds? Really satisfied with all the food we had. read more

Sei Bar - Chinese Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Sei Bar is a neighborhood gem. Similar to its sister restaurants in Medford and Everett, this Wakefield location holds the same charm. Everything is delicious! The sushi is fresh and the hot entrees are authentic. I highly recommend the Fresh UU-10 Scallop if you like the flavor of spicy mayo. So good! read more

Sei Bar - Chinese Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Sei Bar in Wakefield is nice and hip looking Asian fusion restaurant. I call it "Asian Fusion" but "Asian Confusion" might be a more apt way to describe it, or at least the food. They have Sushi, Chinese, Japanese and Thai food. I went there a few times for lunch and the lunch combo platters I found to be confusing with the myriad of style options. Also trying to cover all those bases made the lunch combo options just flat out weird. The meals came in what I think they call a "bento box" which I was not a fan of. Sure it looks neat initially but trying to cut your food and mix the rice etc. proved to be totally annoying. I had General Gau chicken one time and peanut beef the other, both were good but difficult to eat because of the box thing they were served in. Neither was exceptional and given the amount of competition in the area, I would probably go to Oye in Reading or Sato II in Stoneham before suffering the lunch box again. Jade Garden in Wakefield also makes a much better lunch combo plate or for eat in you could do Mandarin Reading and come away with a better experience. Soup is included with the lunch combo unless you want "hot and sour" which cost more and therefore is another whack of the lame stick. The soup does come in a funky square glass bow which looks cool but the portion size is just too small. The seats at the bar area and in the front section are kind of awkward and bouncy and uncomfortable. I did not have the sushi and the food was not terrible but the lunch menu needs to be done over and those serving boxes and chairs need to go. Wakefield has a lot of sushi, some thai and a good sprinkling of mandarin Chinese so not so sure if this place will catch on. read more

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Just OK. Sushi average in taste and freshness, but nicely presented. Crab Rangoons were tasty. Service OK. Atmosphere is a little dumpy but seemed clean. Very casual and a decent price. Probably better options nearby. Most reviews cite the authentic Hunan cuisine, and there were many Chinese eating there when we visited. That's not what we ordered though. read more

First time visiting this new restaurant. I had high expectations after reading the first review but came away disappointed. The good: Staff was very nice Full bar, good selection of mixed specialty drinks Large selection of food choices (Japanese/Sushi, Thai and some Chinese) Hot Thai food was OK The bad: Sushi was just not good. Maybe it was an off day, but I am not sure I would call what i ate "fresh". Not even comparable to Sushi Island, my local favorite for sushi. Hot dishes were OK, but forgettable. I would drive to Pho #1 in Woburn for similar food instead. read more

I am VERY impressed with Sei Bar in Wakefield. (There is a sister venue in Medford, which I have not been to.) I went to Sei Bar with a group, most of whom are regulars. They talked up the sushi at this restaurant and I'll admit that I was a little skeptical, since I thoroughly enjoy the sushi in Porter Exchange near my apartment. Well... I was wrong. This place is great!!! The 7 of us sat at the bar, ordered drinks, and tore through 5-6 orders of sushi, plus edamame, popcorn shrimp, and crab rangoon. The quality was excellent. The bartender was friendly and quick with our food and drinks. She also impressed us by remembering the drink orders for the folks that dine there frequently. Toward the end of our meal she sent out a cucumber-based sushi roll and a round of shots on the house. Kind of a great way to end the night. I'd definitely go back to Sei Bar, but it's pretty out of my way. Regardless--I'd recommend this as a delicious sushi place for people who live outside of the city. read more

I am a BIG fan of sushi and a BIGGER fan of Sei Bar. I've been going to the original location in Medford since it's inception so it only makes sense to try out the Wakefield location. Ironically I found it totally by accident. I was in the area looking for a quick bite to eat. While leaving said establishment I turn to my left and saw the Sei Bar neon sign. WHOAH! I walk in an see my favorite waitress who used to work in Medford but is now designated to the Wakefield location. I walk by and peak in the window. Walk away, then decide to come back and go inside. So glad I did. Got to catch up with an old friend and enjoy some tasty sushi. She even brought out this free mini tuna appetizer. I ended up purchasing another order of it because it was so yummy. The only downfall is no Heineken Light at this location. I managed with a Tsing Tao. read more

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Used to be good years ago. Tried recently and the taste was totally different, on the bad side. Service was super frustrating - got trouble accommodating common request like "no cilantro" read more

Bad service, music oddly too loud and the food was extremely underwhelming. Shaomai was tasteless. read more

Sei Bar - a plate of dumplings on a table - Chinese Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

This is the place that never make us disappointed! It is typical HuNan gourmet, spicy but authentic. The staff is very friendly. But you have to be aware of the waiting time is pretty long, come early or late to avoid the crowds. read more

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Been here a few times. And tried a few main dishes. Very authentic Chinese food. One of the best ones here in Boston

Have tried a couple more restaurants in the Boston area, and this is the best Chinese restaurant for us in the Boston area, despite that we now live 1 hr away from Wakefield. Go to place for Hunan, spicy food. read more

This restaurant's speciality is spicy food from Hunan province region. It's actually quite tasty. If you don't eat a lot of spicy food, you can tell them go easy in on the spice. The beef dish and pig hock dish we ordered were very good, the soup was also very delicious. I recommend the broccoli dish as well. I would certainly go back there. read more

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Super spicy, my whole family liked many dishes, especially tofu and cauliflower! Have to try it

Service is great. Food looks amazing but most dishes we ordered (6) were salty and some extremely salty.

Very authentic Hu Nan cuisine. Too spicy for me even i am from sichuan. hahahaha. High quality of Chinese food. Feel like I am having a lunch in China. Sesame ball is recommended, but is it very oily. So share with three ppl +. Thus you won't have greasy feeling in your mouth and your stomach still have space for other dishes. Hahaha Spicy fish is recommended, one dish two tastes made by two different peppers. read more

I brought my service dog to the restaurant and they asked me what he dog is for. It is actually illegal to ask for what purpose a dog is providing as a service dog. After providing my service dog Documents, an employee let out an exasperated sigh from the Kitchen and sounded very upset. By law, all public establishments have to allow service dogs with their owners and most certainly not ask about the service they provide. Food is good, so if you do not have disability, please go ahead. read more

So far , the best Hunan Chinese food restaurant in Great BostonI have tried ! Spicy and hot-wok style dish. read more

It is not my first time here but I am deeply disappointed. Not because of the flavors of food but the quantity and service. I understand the cost of the ingredients has raised but I don't mind if you increase the price. Please keep the quantity. We have five people and we ordered 8dishes not enough before we just order 4 and we still have leftover. Asking for napkins, never come, asking for ice, came half cup for us 5 to share. No AC. Extremely hot. It is a very unpleasant experience and I will cross this restaurant on my to go list. read more